ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced its 2026 Field Hockey Players to Watch List on Wednesday. Preseason honors were bestowed upon 11 student-athletes who earned All-Big Ten honors last season.
The 27-member Watch List features a pair of Big Ten award winners from last season in Northwestern’s Ashley Sessa (Offensive Player of the Year) and Ilse Tromp (Defensive Player of the Year).
The Watch List also includes seven returning All-Americans: Sessa, Tromp and Olivia Bent-Cole from Northwestern; Indiana’s Inés Garcia Prado, Dionne van Aalsum and Fréderique van Cleef from Iowa and Maryland’s Josie Hollamon.
The 2026 field hockey season begins Friday with five Big Ten teams ranked in the Penn Monto/NFHCA National Coaches Poll. Two-time defending NCAA champion Northwestern enters the season as the nation’s top-ranked team.
BIG TEN PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST
| Name |
School |
Yr |
Position(s) |
Hometown |
| Inés Garcia Prado + |
Indiana |
Sr. |
Midfielder |
Madrid, Spain |
| Mijntje Hagen ^ |
Indiana |
Jr. |
Forward |
Zeist, Netherlands |
| Molly Stutte # |
Indiana |
So. |
Forward/Midfielder |
St. Louis, Mo. |
| Jordan Byers ^# |
Iowa |
So. |
Midfielder |
Landisburg, Pa. |
| Dionne van Aalsum + |
Iowa |
Sr. |
Midfielder |
Castricum, Netherlands |
| Fréderique van Cleef + |
Iowa |
Gr. |
Forward |
Asten, Netherlands |
| Ella Beach |
Maryland |
Fr. |
Midfielder |
Northbrook, Ill. |
| Josie Hollamon + |
Maryland |
Sr. |
Back |
Delmar, Del. |
| Feliz Kuhne |
Maryland |
So. |
Midfielder |
The Hague, Netherlands |
| Abby Burnett ^ |
Michigan |
Sr. |
Midfielder |
Zionsville, Pa. |
| Kelsey Reviello |
Michigan |
R-Jr. |
Midfielder |
Colonial Beach, Va. |
| Hala Silverstein |
Michigan |
R-Jr. |
Goalkeeper |
Glenwood, Md. |
| Natalie Arnold |
Michigan State |
5th |
Back |
East Brunswick, N.J. |
| Lilian Knorr |
Michigan State |
Jr. |
Midfielder |
Berlin, Germany |
| Bianca Pizano |
Michigan State |
Sr. |
Forward |
Exeter, Pa. |
| Olivia Bent-Cole + |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
Forward |
Philadelphia, Pa. |
| Ashley Sessa + |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
Forward |
Schwenksville, Pa. |
| Ilse Tromp + |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
Back/Midfielder |
Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| Emily Barker |
Ohio State |
Sr. |
Forward/Midfielder |
Columbus, Ohio |
| Autum Kernechel # |
Ohio State |
So. |
Midfielder/Back |
Emmaus, Pa. |
| Anne Marie Krebs ^ |
Ohio State |
Sr. |
Midfielder |
Louisville, Ky. |
| Sienna Dunn |
Penn State |
Gr. |
Midfielder |
Peel, Isle of Man |
| Ella Gaitan |
Penn State |
Jr. |
Forward |
Belvidere, N.J. |
| Lara Pyle |
Penn State |
So. |
Midfielder/Forward |
Brisbane, Australia |
| Anna Cogdell |
Rutgers |
Jr. |
Back/Midfielder |
Badingham, England |
| Martha Goodridge # |
Rutgers |
So. |
Midfielder |
Marlow, England |
| Emily Nicholls # |
Rutgers |
Jr. |
Goalkeeper |
Haddon Heights, N.J. |
+ 2025 All-Big Ten First Team
^ 2025 All-Big Ten Second Team
# 2025 Big Ten All-Freshman Team